The forthcoming annual Lagos International Motor Fair & Autoparts Expo Nigeria is aimed at revving activities in the auto industry by showcasing the capacities and potentials of the sector of the economy.
Giving the indication recently at a press briefing in Lagos, the Managing Director, BKG Exhibitions Limited, Mr. Ifeanyichukwu Agwu, lamented that the lull in the sector is making it difficult for stakeholders to exploit the potentials in the industry.
The 13th Motor Fair & 7th Autoparts Expo is scheduled to hold at the Federal Palace Hotel, Ahmadu Bello Way, Victoria Island, Lagos, from May 7 to12, 2018.
Re-emphasizing the importance of the exhibition organised by BKG, Agwu, who is also the Chairman of the Organising Committee for the event, said that with the “One Expo; Continental Spread” theme, the event aims at showcasing the importance of the Nigerian market as the hub of automotive business in sub-Sahara Africa; and one that is highly rewarding for investments.
He said: “We are going to add more pep to promoting the spare parts sub-sector. This is informed by the determination of the organisers to champion the development and thriving of autoparts sub-sector as leeway to fast-tracking the development of Nigeria’s automotive industry. In this edition as we have been doing for sometimes now we will champion the autoparts section to seeing to making Nigeria become the hub of the business in Africa. We want to make it a strong point of real taking off of a realizable auto policy”.
The BKG MD advised government to focus more on spare parts manufacturing in place of assembling, arguing that spare parts is the place where the real technology transfer takes place. “It involves precision and proper planning more than the coupling that takes place in assembling. This will give rise to establishing of more Original Equipment Manufacturers and increase employment”.
Agwu disclosed that organising the event at a time the economic atmosphere has not been encouraging “has been very challenging, but we are only trying to find a way to push it as a key event the sector, because we cannot but use it to draw the necessary attention on the situation in the sector . Government should bail out the automobile companies operating in the country, because It is a sector that affects virtually everything.
“The Autoparts Expo segment of the event is doing well and we are looking at involving a lot countries in west and central Africa this year. This we have started by extending invitations to players in the auto parts business in those countries to visit the fair. We are aiming at using the Nigerian Autoparts markets as the hub of the sectors business in Africa. The intention is to make them [players from the other countries] to be buying from the Nigerian markets.
‘In conjunction with our foreign partners, we have reached out to many of such companies and happily the response has been tremendous and we are expecting a lot of them.”’